Overheated Transmission ?

[Johan]

Was towing a 5000 pound trailer on a resonably flat road when suddenly, my Ex starts smoking like a chimeny. Pulled over immediately and found tranny pushing oil out converter housing. I was towing in OD steadily. Only shifted taking on some slopes.
Is this common ? meaning tranny pushes out oil when it gets hot?
If common, what is normally the damage?
Someone at Ford told me to just top it up and see how it goes!! What do you think about that?


Johan

 

[BradE.]

I'd change all the fluid and filter. Chances are, the fluid is fried.

If you going to tow, get a huge tranny cooler and install it.

 

[YourmamaISSOL]

min did the same thing and i havent been able to keep fluid in it... still leaks .. but

Originally posted by Crankcase

BTW....You probably blew the pump seal. It will leak tiny bits over time....the actual transmission will likely hold up, but it would be a good idea to get it fixed.

Gary

 

[Johan]

Thanks,

Read somewhere that if Towing kit is installed , there is an oilcooler in front of radiator. Is that correct?
I have that or atleast that's what I think it is!. Do you think even so I should install a larger cooler?

Johan

 

[88vert]

I never tow in OD.First gen tranny's are not the strongest point on our ex's

 

[YourmamaISSOL]

Originally posted by Johan
Thanks,

Read somewhere that if Towing kit is installed , there is an oilcooler in front of radiator. Is that correct?
I have that or atleast that's what I think it is!. Do you think even so I should install a larger cooler?

Johan

I also have a trans cooler(the little raidator in front of your normal raidator) and from what i understand is, that if you are going to tow or just use your tranny hard you should install a larger one with an electric fan.. there are a few people here that have this.

I personaly am going to do a manual swap and just forget about the auto......

Gary.

 

[Alec]

Heat is the #1 killer of auto trannies, I hope you didn't damage anything.

 

[Johan]

Great stuff guys!!

Now the real question;

Should I pull it out or just leave it in there and see what goes? (After changing oil and filters)

Johan

 

[YourmamaISSOL]

i havent gotten up in there to find out where exactly the "Pump seal" is but i would asume that it is just in the pan on the bottom but i could be wrong.. i think alec would be best to answer this one since he know quite alot abut the X's.

Gary

 

[Mellotron]

Naturally I will suggest trying AMSOIL Synthetic ATF. It will keep your fluid temperatures down 20 to 60 degrees F and not only will it keep the clutches clean but will last 3 times longer. A 2.5 gallon bottle normally sells for $74.25 but I will sell this one for $65 if you want to give it a try as a end of the month Exploerer deal.

www.syntheticwarehouse.com

 

[Opera House]

Transmission must be dropped

to replace the pump seal but you do not need to open the transmission to do it. Even putting a new seal will not guarantee it won't happen again. There is normally very little pressure on this seal and there is a drain hole to send fluid back to the pan. Some people drill this out larger to solve the problem of pressure buildup on the seal. For now, change the fluid and see if the leak becomes managable.

 

[a1991owner]

I would get all the required repairs done and possibly have the tranny looked over.

Lastly, since you where towing 5000 lbs, you never want to tow in OD that will burn your tranny up faster than you think.

Question. Is this 5000 lb trailer you pulling have load stabilizers?

 

[410Fortune]

The front pump seal is a bronze race that must be pressed into place. The transmission must be removed from the vehicle to replace properly.


dropping the pan, changine the fluid and filter is a good idea, but it will only change 3-4 quarts of the ATF. There are approx 7-8 quarts in there, so doing this is only getting 1/2 of the bad fluid out.

If the ATF is burmed you will know it, it tunrs dark brown and smells like a campfire in concentrate.

Dropping the pan will only get 1/2 the fluid out of the tranny. the other half is in the torque converter itself, the colling lines and the coller.

IN order to flush all the fluid you have two choices:
1. take it to a quicky lube type place, have them do whats called a "backflush" of the tranny fluid. Zthis means they actually hook a machine up to the transmission cooler lines and flush fluid through the system until it runs clean.

2. Install a drain plug in your transmission pan and change the fluid 2 or 3 more times until it is all nice and bright red.



I use my BII to tow. I have added a class A motorhome transmission cooler in front of the radiator. I use Mobil synthetic ATF only. I change my fluid and filter at least once a year. I also have a transmission tempature gage so I can monitor the fluid tempature. I never use OD for towing, unless it is high speed on the highway where it is nothing but flat. I also limit my load to 4000# approx.

I just moved to CA from CO, on this trip through the desert with the boat in tow my truck got hot on one of the hill climbs. When we arrived in CA I dropped the transmission pan and found the fluid was burned ( the fluid and filter were less than 3 months old). I replaced the filter, fluid, and gasket. I then went to Quick Lube and had the transmission backflushed. I drove it like this for 200 miles, then I dropped the pan again and changed the filter again. This time I went back to Mobil synth ATF and the fluid is clean and clear again.

To some people this may be overkill, to me the $35 it cost for the filter and gasket along with another $30 for fluid is the cheapest way to ensure that I get at least 100K miels from my A4LD auto. My transmission is a custom unit and it cost quite a bit of $$$ to have it built properly. A fluid and filter change once a year is the best way to protect my invesment.

 

[Johan]

I thought OD was = lock-up ie. direct drive not using the converter. I only have experience from heavy machines and there you always try to be in lock-up to AVOID heat build up from converter.

Thanks for all the tips + the offer for the oil. If you look at the adress where I live, It'll be a bit complicated shipping oil from US.

JOhan

 

[YourmamaISSOL]

all i can tell you is that i started to over heat in over drive but if i stayed in 4th or drive so to speak i would not over heat untill going up the hills.

 

[Majisto]

Originally posted by Johan
I thought OD was = lock-up ie. direct drive not using the converter. I only have experience from heavy machines and there you always try to be in lock-up to AVOID heat build up from converter.

Thanks for all the tips + the offer for the oil. If you look at the adress where I live, It'll be a bit complicated shipping oil from US.

JOhan

Good question.

Overdrive is a very simple term. All it means is a ratio below 1:1. So .74:1 is overdrive, as well as .69:1.

Now, there is a device called the torque converter that connects the motor to the transmission. It acts as a clutch to allow the motor to spin freely when idling so your car doesn't stall out. It does this by "slipping". Now, slipping builds up heat, so you want to avoid this. The torque converter will lock, and you will get direct drive.

The problem is that since gas motors don't make a lot of torque, the converter constantly unlocks itself when you need to accelerate, and then re-lock to increase gas mileage. This constant un-locking and locking builds up the largest amount of heat. Transmission cooler will help prevent this.

 

[wpurple]

.....so it's the converter that usually cooks the fluid and not the transmission itself?

Glad I got a manual

 

[Johan]

Yepp,

It is the friction from the slip in the converter that generates heat. If converter is in lock-up = no heat, less fuel etc.